I have seen these images (not in person) at Dendera. They are quite mysterious and I honestly have to say that they are very hard to dismiss as NOT being some kind of light bulb with electric cord.

I think it was Erik Von Daniken who actually made a working lightbulb from the design shown in the releifs. Others say it is has religious meaning and has nothing to with electricity and light bulbs, that its just our modern minds trying to impose our own symbols, technology and meanings on ancient civilizations to try to enhance the "fringe" element of Egyptology.

"Inside these "bulbs" there are snakes in wavy lines. The snakes' pointed tails issue from a lotus flower, which, without much imagination, can be interpreted as the socket of the bulb. Something similar to a wire leads to a small box on which the air god is kneeling. Adjacent to it stands a two-armed djed pillar as a symbol of power, which is connected to the snake. Also remarkable is the baboon-like demon holding two knives in his hands, which are interpreted as a protective and defensive power.....Von Däniken sees the snake as a filament, the djed pillar as an insulator, and claims that "the monkey with the sharpened knives symbolizes the danger that awaits those who do not understand the device."

Im still on the fence. I'm not convinced that they are light bulbs....but I'm also not convinced that they aren't!

Here is some more info but if you google it you can find other points of view and probably better pictures.

It is unlikely that they are cartouches. The 'cartouche' [V10] is an elongated version of the hieroglyph shen [V9] which both have the distinct line with the middle of this line on the quadrant of the circle or radius of the sign(s). The "light bulbs" shown are larger at the tip and taper down without the distinct line . Also the bulb seems to taper down into a lotus flower (socket?). So i don't think they are a representation of the shen or cartouche.

Some may argue that it is physically impossible to construct light bulbs of this size even by todays standards but I would respond to that by saying we know from many reliefs and inscriptions that things that the ancient egyptians felt were important were portayed on a scale that was typically larger than life. For instance, the pharoah wasn't really 10 feet taller than his queen yet we see this time and time again.

What adds to the mystery is that there are no other images ever found that are even remotely similar to these. What in the ancient world are they meant to represent??????!!!!!!!!! Very bizarre!

This is all so patently ridiculous! Let me point out a few ridiculous flaws in this crazy scheme:

1) To my knowledge the Egyptians were unable to mould clear glass with any accuracy at all - the only Egyptian glass that survives is, in the vast majority, faience (i.e. not transparent). The only transparent glass that survives from Ancient Egypt is in the form of quickly cooled beads and tiles - they were unable to use raw glass to construct anything larger.

2) The snake does not form a complete circuit. If they knew of electricity then surely such a concept of completeness would be of great importance to the drawing? The Egyptians seem to stress that idea almost everywhere else that it's applicable - and yet here it isn't even mentioned.

3) There is no material to my mind with which the Egyptians could have constructed the bulb filament. Clearly a snake would not have worked. Furthermore no vacuum could have been generated to prevent the filament used from bursting into flame. Even tungsten requires a protective argon atmosphere in modern bulbs.

4) It's very easy to ascribe commonplace modern ideas to Egyptian reliefs, just to make them seem familiar and to put a modern face on a mysterious culture. But saying that these reliefs are of lightbulbs doesn't solve anything at all. It's just accepting defeat!

Besides, is it not possible that the bulb shape is merely a side view of one of the extended lotus leaves - the symbol of divine creation?

You are right that the Egyptians didn't have much of a handle on glass molding, but couldn't it be possible that if they did by some circumstance manage to form a bulb form, that it could have been destroyed with the ravages of time on such a delicate structure, or that we simply haven't found possible evidence of a bulb form?

True, the snake does not complete the full circuit, but as you mentioned with the lotus flower, it is most likely a form of symbolism. The cobra symbolises the 'power' of the pharaoh, and also is recognized as a symbol of new life, or a 'new light' if you will.

I also have the same agreement with you of knowing of no material to construct a filament, but perhaps they used a dried out, hollow snake corpse to syphen (sp?) a sort of vaccuum? I know I'm most likely wrong, but I'm trying to think without thinking.

And you are right that it is easy to try to bastardize Egyptian ideas with our own modern ones. Even I have done this; if you'll remember the topic I started regarding the similarities of the hieroglyphic alphabet and easy ways (at least for me) to remember some of the letters. An example would be the the squiggly river (N) for Nile, or the hand (D) for digits.

I agree with pretty much everything you say, Unas. It is indeed possible that more sophisticated glassware was constructed in Ancient Egypt - perhaps it just has not survived. It's not beyond the realms of possibility.

Another possible interpretation of the snake (particularly when connected to the creation) might be the idea of duality. The Wadjet eye and the Uraeas are both symbols of duality, and during the creation according both to the Heliopolitan and Hermopolitan myths, it was through a combination of dualistic forces that Egypt came into being. This may also be emphasised by the fact that two lotus flowers are shown - and that they are lotus flowers. You may remember that Nefertem, from whom springs forth the sun, Re-Atum, in the Heliopolitan creation myth was often shown as a man with lotus leaves around his neck, his symbol being the lotus flower. . . . .

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